Ball valve



BALL VALVE Original Filed June 29, 1962 VIVENTORS United States Patent3,231,235 BALL VALVE John Harry Anderson, Burlington, Wis., and WernerK. Priese, Barrington, Ill., assignors to Hills-McCanna Company,Carpentersville, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application June 29,1962, Ser. No. 206,512, now Patent No. 3,168,279, dated Feb. 2, 1965,which is a continuation of abandoned application Ser. No. 830,873, July31, 1956. Divided and this application Feb. 14, 1963, Ser. No. 258,594

4 Claims. (Cl. 251-214) The present invention relates to ball valves.This application is a division of copending application Serial No.206,512, filed June 29, 1962, and now Patent No. 3,168,- 279, whichcopending application Serial No. 206,512 was a continuation ofapplication Serial No. 830,873, filed July 31, 1959, and now abandoned.

One object of the invention is to provide a ball valve having a new andimproved construction which affords a number of worthwhile advantages,particularly in sealing the valve against the escape of iiuid along thevalve operating stem.

. Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description of the exemplary embodiment illustratedin the drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a ball valve embodying theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view taken along the line 2 2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken generally along theirregular line 3 3 of FIG. l;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale taken alongthe line 4-4 of FIG. 2 and showing the valve ball in open position andin engagement with one coacting valve seat, and illustrating in phantomthe relationship of the ball to the valve seat when the valve is closed;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 which illustrates by` way `ofcontrast the relationship which would prevail between the valve ballandthe valve seats except for a structural feature incorporated in thevalve embodying the invention and illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary top view of the valve;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary detail view showing the valve spring encased ina corrosion resistant covering; and

. FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line8-8 of FIG. 3.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, the ball valve 10 formingthe exemplary embodiment of the invention illustrated comprises valve.body or housing' means 12, FIG. 1, defining an internal valve chamber14 and two passages 16, 18 opening into opposite sides of the chamber inopposed alignment with each other. As shown, the outer ends of thepassages 16, 18 are counterbored and internally threaded for connectionwith coacting pipes or other conduits (not shown) to be connected by thevalve.

A rotatable valve ball 20 having a basically spherical shape is disposedin the chamber 14 between the inner ends of the passages 16, 18, asshown. Opposite sides of the ball valve 20 are engaged by a pair ofannular valve seats 22, 24 encircling the inner ends of the respectivepassages 16, 18.

The two annular seats 22,'24 are slidably supported on two flat supportsurfaces 26, 28 formed on the body means 12 in encircling, generallytransverse relation to the inner ends of the respective passages 16, 18and converging somewhat in relation to each other in a lateral directionwith respect to the passages 16, 18.

The annular valve seats 22, 24 are formed of annular rings 30, 32 ofTeon and are confined against radial expansion by annular bands of metal34, v36 closely encircling the Teflon rings and forming componentelements of the valve seats.

The inner peripheries of the rings 30, 32 are shaped to form,respectively, annular sealing surfaces 38, 4i) extending substantiallythe full axial width of the rings and shaped to conform to and fitagainst the external spherical surface of the valve ball 20.

A helical compression spring 42 is mounted in the valve to engage theball 20 to urge the ball 20 and seats 22, 24 in the direction in whichthe support surfaces 26, 28 converge.

The Teiion ring 32 of the valve seat 22, which is identical to the valveseat ring 24, is machined to define on a medial annular segment of theball opposing surface 40 a circular initial sealing bea-d 43 protrudingonly a few thousandths of an inch above the surface 40 and having ashape in transverse section, FIG. 8, conforming to a segment of a circlehaving a small radius of curvature.

Upon assembly of the valve 10, the crest of the bead 43 on each valveseat surface engages the opposing ball 2i? to elfect line contact of thevalue seat with the ball so that the valve described becomes immediatelyeffective upon being vassembled to produce vacuum `or bubble tightengagements of both seats 22, 24 with the valve ball.

As shown in FIGS. l, 3 and 4, the valve ball 20 defines an internal bore44 extending through the ball and oriented in relation to the ball sothat opposite ends of the bore are moved into and out of registrationwith the central openings through the respective valve seats 22, 24 asan incident to the turning `of the ball between its open and closedpositions.

In the improved valve illustrated, the internal bore 44 is oriented inrelation to the valve ball 20 so that the centers of opposite ends ofthe bore are displaced toward the converging ends lof the valve seat`support surfaces 26, 28 Iaway from a plane extending through the centerof the ball in perpendicular relation to the linear direction in whichthe surfaces 26, 28 converge toward each other.

Having reference t-o FIG. 4, the rotary axis of the ball 20 isdesignated by the number 46.

A plane ext-ending through the center 48 Vof the ball 20 inperpendicular relation to the rotary axis of the ball is represented inFIG. 4 by the -line Sil. The center of one end of the bore 44 isdesignated in FIG. 4 by the number 52 and a line extending between thecenters of opposite ends of the bore is designated by the num-ber 54.The center ofthe end of the bore 44 opposite from that specificallyillustrated in FIG. 4 is similarly offset from the plane 50 as indicatedin FIG. 4 by the parallel relationship ofthe plane 50 to the line 54extending between the centers of opposite ends of the bore. The actualdisplacement of opposite ends `of the internal bore 44 from the plane 50is designated in FIG. 4 by the number 56.

Olfsetting of the centers of opposite ends of the bore 44 from the.plane 50 toward the converging ends of the surfaces 26, 28 provides asubstantially concentric alignment of opposite ends of the bore with thecentral openings through the respective valve seats 22, 24, as shown inFIGS. 1 and 4, when the ball 20 is in open position. The width of thearea of mutual contact between the bal-l engaging surface 40 of thevalve seat 24, for example,` and the ball 20, when the latter is in openposition, is designated in FIG. 4 by the number 58. Because of theconcentric relationship produced between the seats 22, 24 and oppositeends of bore 44 by virtue of the offset positions of opposite ends ofthe bore from the plane 50, the

, width 58 of the area of elfe-ctive engagement of the seat 24, forexample, with the ball when the latter is in open position iscircumferentially uniform around the valve seat.

As shown in FIG. 4, the offsetting of the bore ends is such that :a linedrawn from the center 48 of the valve ball through the center 52 of oneend of the bore 44 makes fan angle ,60 with the plane 50 which is equalto the inclination of the surface 28 relative to the line 45, suchinclination being equal to one-half the angular divergence `of the twosupport surfaces 26, 28.

In FIG. structural components corresponding to those shown in FIG. 4previously described are designated with the same reference numeralswith the addition of the suffix f. The valve structure illustrated inFIG. 5 differs from that shown in FIG. 4 only in that the straightcylindrical valve bore 44a is concentric with the center 48a of thevalve ball 2da and the centers of opposite ends of the bore 44a lie inthe plane 50a extending through the center 43a of the ball inperpendicular relation to the linear direction 46a in which the valve`seat support surfaces converge.

The construction of FIG. 5 produces asymmetrical engagement of the valveseat 24a, for example, with tie ba'll 20a when the valve is open asshown in FIG. 5, and as a result the width of the 4ball opposing surface40a of the Valve seat 24a in active engagement with the ball 29a variesfrom a maximum width at the lower side of the seat, with-.reference toFIG. 5 to a greatly reduced width at the diametrically opposite `sidelof the seat.

The ball 2@ in the improved valve iti, FIGS. 1 to 4 is turned betweenits open and closed Apositions as described by means of a rotary valvestem 62 mounted in a removable cover 64 forming a part of the Valve bodymeans 12. The cover 64 is removably secured by cap screws 66 to the mainportion of the body means 12 to cover the side Of the Valve chamber 14toward which the valve seat .support surfaces 26, 23 diverge from eachother. Hence, removal of the cover 64 provides direct and unrestrictedaccess to the chamber I4 for inspecting and servicing the valve ball andvalve seats.

The inner end of the valve vst-em 62 protrudes inwardly from the cap 64and defines a generally dat tang 68 which projects into Ia slot 70 inthe ball 2f) to transmit rotary motion from the stem to the ball. Thepreviously mentioned helical spring 42 encircles the inner end of theystern 62 between the ball 20 and an annular shoulder 72 on the stem asshown in FIG. 1.

The opposite end of the stem 62 projects outwardly from the cover 64 andis milled on opposite sides to form two parallel dats 74, 76, FIGS. 2and 3. The flatted end of the stem 62 extends through an elongated slot78 in an elongated, transverse throwplate S0 which projects a substantial distance beyond opposite sides ofthe stem as shown in FIGURE 2.A pair of limit stop pins 82, S4 are fixed into the cover 64 as showninFIG. 3 to project outwardly into interfering relation to opposite endsof the throw plate titi, FIG. 2, to limit rotation of the throw plateand stem 62 to a radial angle of approximately 90 degrees, stoppingrotary movement of the stem 62 in positions corresponding to the openand closed positions of the valve ball 2t).

The slotted inner end of a radial operating handle 36 is fitted on theprojecting end of the stem 62 in overlying relation to the throw plate8f) and covered by a washer 88 which is engaged by a nut 90 threadedonto the extreme end of the stem as shown in FIGURES l and 2.

A short cylindrical gland 92 encircles the stem 62 between the cover 64and packing 94 fitted into the top of the cover 64 around the stem. Asshown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the packing 94 is fitted into the cover 64 inclosely encircling relation to the stem 62 and is, itself, closelyencircled by an annular shoulder 93 on the cover. In this manner thepacking 94 fits down into and rests against the bottom of an outwardlyopening annular well 95 produced in the cover 64 between the shoulder 93and the stem 62 by an outer -counterbore (also denoted by the number 95)in the outer end of the cover bore 97, which receives and journals thestem 62. Packing 98 is fitted around the inner end of the stem 62between the collar 72 and the cover 64. Also, as shown in FIG. 1 and asindicated by reference numbers in yFIG. 3, the packing 98 is fitted intothe cover 64 in closely encircling relation to the stem 62 and is,itself, closely encircled by an annular shoulder 99 on the cover. InVthe manner illustrated, the packing 93 fits up into and rests againstthe bottom of an inwardly opening annular well 101 produced in the cover64 between the shoulder 99 and the stem 62 by an inner counterbore (alsodenoted by the number 101) in the inner end of the stern journallingcover bore 97.

This structural arrangement provides for simultaneous tightening of thetwo packings 94, 98, encircling the inner and outer ends of the stem, asan incident to tightening of the single nut which urges the stemshoulder 72 and the gland 92 toward each other to exert compressiveforces on the packings. The action of the single nut 90 in tighteningthe inner packing 93 as well as the outer packing 94 is of decidedadvantage in maintaining the fiuid tight integrity of the valve.

Proper operation of the valve even by unskilled personnel is facilitatedby means of a red indicating arrow 19t) conspicuously displayed on theouter end of the stem 62 and oriented in relation to the stem to have aparallel alignment with the two passages 16, 18 when the valve is openand to point laterally at a right angle to the passages 16, 18 when thevalve is closed.

The spring 42 located within the valve housing 12 can be protected fromcontact with the ffuidin the housing by encasing the spring in amaterial resistant to the chemical action of the fluid. FIG. 7 shows asectional view of a spring 42a used in this environment and encased inan impervious covering 102 of Tefion, which is immune to attack by mostfluids.

It will be appreciated that the invention is not necessarily limited tothe specific embodiment illustrated but includes variants and structuralalternatives within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined bythe claims.

The invention is claimed as follows:

1. A ball valve comprising, in combination, bodymeans including adetachable cover and defining a valve cham ber and two passagesextending thereinto, a valve ball rotatably disposed within saidchamber, valve seats ex tending around the inner ends of said respectivepassages and sealing against said valve ball, a valve stem exten ingrotatably through said cover into said chamber and being drivinglyconnected to said ball, said stem beingA movable axially with respect tosaid cox/er, said cover including means encircling said stem at theinner side of the cover and being shaped to define a first annular sealwell encircling the stem immediately adjacent thereto and openingaxially inward, a first yieldable seal of annular form disposed in saidfirst well in encircling relation tol said stem, a generally circularseal compressor supported on said stem inwardly of said first seal andbeing shaped to extend axially into said well in confronting relationto' said first seal to apply axial force thereto, said coverincluding/means encircling said stem at the outerside of the cover anddefining a second seal well openingaxially outward in encirclingimmediately adjacent relation to said stern, a second yieldable seal ofannular formdisposed in said second seal Well in encircling'relation tosaid stern, a seal compressing gland element encircling said stemoutwardly of said second seal and being shaped to extend axially intosaid second well to apply inward compressing force to said second seal.,said gland element being axially movable on said stem, ahandlenon-rotatably mountedfon said stem outwardly of said gland element, saidhandle being axially movable on said stem and having an axial forcetransmitting relation to said gland element, and retaining means on theouter end of said stem coacting with said .handle to urge the Vlatterinwardly with respect to said stem to transmit an inward axial forcethrough said handle and said gland element to said second seal and totransmit an outward axial force through said stem and said sealcompressor to said first seal to effect simultaneous tightening of bothsaid first and second seals.

2. A valve comprising, in combination, body means defining a valveChamber and two passages extending there into a valve ball rotatablydisposed within said chamber, valve seats extending around the innerends of said respective passages and sealing against said valve ball, aValve stem extending rotatably through said body means into said chamberand being drivingly connected to said ball, said stem being movableaxially with respect to said body means, said body means including meansencircling said stem adjacent said chamber and defining with the stem arst annular seal well encircling the stem in adjacent relation theretoand opening axially inward, an inner yieldable seal of annular formdisposed in said first well in encircling relation to said stem, a sealcompressor supported on said stem inwardly of said inner seal and beingshaped to extend axially into said well in confronting relation to saidinner seal to apply axial force thereto, said body means including meansencircling said stem to define therewith a second annular seal wellopening axially outward in encircling immediately adjacent relation tosaid stem, an outer yieldable seal of annular for-m disposed in saidsecond well in encircling relation to said stem, a compressing glandelement encircling said stem outwardly of said outer seal and beingshaped to extend axially into said second well to apply inwardcompressing force to said outer seal, said gland element being axiallymovable on said stem, tightening means on the outer end of said stemreacting on said gland element and coacting with said stem to force thestern outwardly with respect to the gland element to transmit an outwardseal tightening axial force through said stem and said seal compressorto said inner seal and to apply an inward seal tightening axial forcethrough said gland element to said outer seal.

3. A valve comprising in combination, body means delining a valvechamber and two passages extending into said chamber, a rotatable valveball disposed within said chamber, valve seat means extending around theinner end of each of said passages and forming a seal between said bodymeans and said ball, a valve stem extending inwardly through said bodymeans and having an inner end driv ingly connected to said ball, saidstern being movable axially with respect to said body means, said bodymeans defining an inner surface closely encircling said stem on thevalve chamber side of said body means, a first yieldable annular sealencircling said stem on the valve chamber side of said body means and inadjacent relation to said inner surface, a seal compressor supported onsaid stem inwardly of said seal and confronting said seal to apply axialforce to the latter to compress the seal between the seal compressor andthe portion of the body means defining said inner surface encircling thestem, means encircling said yieldable annular seal to coniine the sealto a predetermined maximum diameter when it is subjected to compressionbetween said seal compressor and said body means, said body meansdefining an outer surface closely encircling said stem, a secondyieldable annular seal encircling said stem on the external side of saidbody means in adjacent relation t0 said outer surface on said bodymeans, a gland element encircling said stem outwardly of said secondSeal in adjacent opposing relation to the latter and being axiallymovable on said stern, means encircling said second yieldable annularseal to conne the second seal to a predetermined maximum diarneter whenthe second seal is subjected to compression between said gland elementand said body means, means for rotating said stem to turn said valveball between valve open and valve closed positions thereof, and meanscoacting with said stem and said gland element to react therebetween toapply an inward axial force through said gland element to said secondannular seal to tighten the latter around the stem and to apply anoutward axial force through said stem and said seal compressor to saidrst annular seal to tighten the latter around the stern.

4. A valve comprising in combination, body means dening a valve chamberand two passages extending into said chamber, a rotatable valve balldisposed within said chamber to control communication between saidpassages, valve seat elements extending around the inner ends of saidrespective passages and sealing against said ball, a valve stemextending inwardly through said body means and having an inner enddrivingly connected to said ball, said stern being movable axially withrespect to said body means, a first yieldable annular seal encirclingsaid stern on the valve chamber side of the portion of said body meansthrough which the stem extends, a seal compressor supported on said steminwardly of said seal and confronting said seal to apply axial force tothe latter to compress the seal between the seal compressor and saidportion of the body means encircling the stem, means encircling saidyieldable annular seal to confine the seal to a predetermined maximumdiameter when it is subjected to compression between said sealcompressor and said body means, means forming a second annular sealencircling said stem on the external side of said body means in adjacentrelation to said body means, a seal pressure applying element encirclingsaid stern outwardly of said second seal in adjacent opposing relationto the latter and being axially movable on said stern, means forrotating said stem to turn said valve ball between valve open and valveclosed positions thereof, and means coacting with said stem and saidseal pressure applying element to react therebetween to apply an inward.axial force through said pressure element to said second seal to tightenthe latter and to apply an outward axial force through said stem andsaid seal compressor to said rst annular seal to tighten the latter.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS ISADOR WEIL,Primary Examiner.

D. A. ROWE, Assistant Examiner.

2. A VALVE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, BODY MEANS DEFINING A VALVECHAMBER AND TWO PASSAGES EXTENDING THEREINTO A VALVE BALL ROTATABLYDISPOSED WITHIN SAID CHAMBER, VALVE SEATS EXTENDING AROUND THE INNERENDS OF SAID RESPECTIVE PASSAGES AND SEALING AGAINST SAID VALVE BALL, AVALVE STEM EXTENDING ROTATABLY THROUGH SAID BODY MEANS INTO SAID CHAMBERAND BEING DRIVINGLY CONNECTED TO SAID BALL, SAID STEM BEING MOVABLEAXIALLY WITH RESPECT TO SAID BODY MEANS, SAID BODY MEANS INCLUDING MEANSENCIRCLING SAID STEM ADJACENT SAID CHAMBER AND DEFINING WITH THE STEM AFIRST ANNULAR SEAL WELL ENCIRCLING THE STEM IN ADJACENT RELATION THERETOAND OPENING AXIALLY INWARD, AN INNER YIELDABLE SEAL OF ANNULAR FORMDISPOSED IN SAID FIRST WELL IN ENCIRCLING RELATION TO SAID STEM, A SEALCOMPRESSOR SUPPORTED ON SAID STEM INWARDLY OF SAID INNER SEAL AND BEINGSHAPED TO EXTEND AXIALLY INTO SAID WELL IN CONFRONTING RELATION TO SAIDINNER SEAL TO APPLY AXIAL FORCE THERETO, SAID BODY MEANS INCLUDING MEANSENCRICLING SAID STEM TO DEFINE THEREWITH A SECOND ANNULAR SEAL WELLOPENING AXIALLY OUTWARD IN ENCIRCLING IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT RELATION TOSAID STEM,, AN OUTER YIEDABLE SEAL OF ANNULAR FORM DISPOSED IN SAIDSECOND WELL IN ENCIRCLING RELATION TO SAID STEM, A COMPRESSING GLANDELEMENT ENCIRCLING SAID STEM OUTWARDLY OF SAID OUTER SEAL AND BEINGSHAPED TO EXTEND AXIALLY INTO SAID SECOND WELL TO APPLY INWARDCOMPRESSING FORCE TO SAID OUTER SEAL, SAID GLAND ELEMENT BEING AXIALLYMOVABLE ON SAID STEM, TIGHTENING MEANS ON THE OUTER END OF SAID STEMREACTING ON SAID GLAND ELEMENT AND COACTING WITH SAID STEM TO FORCE THESTEM OUTWARDLY WITH RESPECT TO THE GLAND ELEMENT TO TRANSMIT AN OUTWARDSEAL TIGHTENING AXIAL FORCE THROUGH SAID STEM AND SAID SEAL COMPRESSORTO SAID INNER SEAL AND TO APPLY AN INWARD SEAL TIGHTENING AXIAL FORCETHROUGH SAID GLAND ELEMENT TO SAID OUTER SEAL.